Article: Brewer Drafts From the Past: Rounds 16-20

[Caswell]

The Brewers drafted a universal fan favorite in the 16th round, who only ended up with significant playing time in Milwaukee in the twilight of his career. They also were unable to secure some greats, one of whom is a Cy Young contender.

This year’s draft will have 20 rounds, and despite being potentially considered the new “bottom of the barrel” in the draft, there have been some great Major Leaguers, along with plenty of serviceable ones drafted between the 16th and 20th round. In fact, in rounds 16 through 20, the round which consists of the most players appearing in the MLB drafted by the Brewers is the 19th round.

With the MLB Draft starting on July 17th, we're looking back at the best players the Brewers have drafted, and the best that they failed to sign. Today we will take a look at players the Brewers drafted between rounds 16 and 20. Before you start, take a look at Wednesday’s article, where I check out players drafted by the Brewers in Round 31 or later or Friday's article where I check out players drafted by the Crew in Round 21 to Round 30.

Best Player Who Signed
It has to be Lorenzo Cain .

I am just repeating myself when I say that the best player to sign is obvious. The Brewers drafted Cain in the 17th round of the 2004 MLB Amateur Draft with the 496th overall pick out of Madison County High School in Madison, Florida. A very inexperienced player at the time,  he only started playing baseball for the first time in his sophomore year as a result of not making the school’s basketball team. He didn't even own a baseball glove. Despite this, the Crew got a good one, but weren’t really able to see this in Milwaukee until the end of his career.

Cain didn't make it to the majors until 2010, when he came up as a result of injury on June 16th and pinch hit for Brewers against the Braves in Milwaukee. Like so many he robbed of base hits, his first at-bat as a pinch hitter ended in a diving catch by the left fielder. Cain played in 43 games in 2010 with the Brewers, earning a 0.306 batting average with one home run. The following offseason, he was sent to Kansas City to play for the Royals along with Alcides Escobar, Jake Odorizzi, and Jeremy Jeffress in exchange for Yuniesky Betancourt and Zack Grienke.

LoCain, the primary center fielder, wasn’t a key contributor at first, but was immense in the Royals back-to-back World Series appearances in 2014 and 2015. This was in large part due to offseason work with Al Hobson, a NJCAA Track and Field Hall of Famer, who was a track coach with the Kansas City Kansas Community College at the time, in order to better his speed and baserunning.

He doubled his infield hits from his 2013 season, along with 28 stolen bases, a career high. He was great in 2014, but took it up a step in the postseason where he ended up winning the ALCS MVP in a sweep of the Baltimore Orioles following the Royals sweep of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the divisional round.

The following 2015 season would be his best, with Cain being named to his first All-Star game and finishing third in MVP voting. This season ended with a World Series ring for his team. He went on to play another two seasons in Kansas City for a total of seven there with a batting average of 0.289 along with 56 home runs and 120 stolen bases.

He returned to Milwaukee in 2018, as he signed a contract the same day Christian Yelich joined the Brewers in a trade. This move ended successfully, with an All-Star appearance in his first year. The following year, 2019, Cain was finally awarded a gold glove for his defensive prowess after leading all center fielders in fielding percentage. Things turned relatively sour though that year, as he battled through injuries. 

Injuries continued in 2021 after Cain opted out of the 2020 pandemic shortened season. He started this season with the Brewers, but struggled, leading the Brewers to designate Lo for assignment, likely ending his career. Despite this, he remains a pivotal and loved figure in Milwaukee, as his “show me love” celebration was adopted by the team immediately upon leaving the team. He accumulated 13.8 WAR with the Brewers, for a career total of 38.4, along with hitting 0.283 along with 87 home runs while only committing 42 errors for a career fielding percentage of 0.986.

Best Unsigned Player
I am certainly becoming a broken record, as there are again two players who earn the spot as best unsigned player. My choice for the top spot is left- handed starting pitcher Carlos Rodón who is the one who got away, after the Brewers drafted him in the round 11 with the 491th pick of the 2011 MLB Draft. He decided to go to North Carolina State University, where he was incredibly successful, leading him to be drafted in the 1st round, 3rd overall in the 2014 draft by the Chicago White Sox.

Rodón made his MLB debut for White Sox just a year later, in 2015, against the Cleveland Indians on April 21st, where he allowed two earned runs off of three hits and three walks in 2.1 innings in relief with one strike out. That year, along with 2016 would be great, with over 20 starts each, but the injury bug hit. He performed enough to still be named the 2019 opening day starter, but was once again sidelined and shut down for the season and required Tommy John surgery.

The COVID-19 shortened 2020 season did not feature Rodón often, but he flourished in 2021, earning him his first All-Star appearance and finishing fifth in Cy Young voting. He won 13 games with 5 losses in the 24 games started and would have led the entire major leagues with his ERA of 2.37 if he were to reach the innings threshold. He also pitched a no-hitter in a start against the Cleveland Indians on April 21st. 

His career year in 2021 marked the end of his seven years in Chicago with the White Sox, where he started 116 of the 121 games he played in, along with two complete games (the other coming in his rookie 2015 season). His ERA in this time: 3.79 along with a FIP of 3.94 and an ERA+ of 110. 

The overall career would be worse than the honorable mention if it weren’t for Rodón’s 2021 and what he has done so far with his 2022 season with the San Francisco Giants after signing a big money deal with them in the previous offseason. So far he has an ERA of 2.87 and an N.L. leading 2.23 FIP and 0.40 HR/9 in his seven wins and five loses across 16 games, all started. He also owns a fantastic ERA+ of 144. A candidate once again for the Cy Young Award, this time in the N.L., he has started 132 of his 137 games in his eight year career, winning 49 with an ERA of 3.68.

Honorable Mention

It was a difficult choice between Carlos Rodón and Kevin McReynolds , but the potential ceiling of the former edged out the latter. McReynolds more than earned his 19th round pick in the 1978 Draft with the 475th overall pick by the Milwaukee Brewers. As a senior in high school, he led his Sylvan Hills High School baseball team out of Sherwood, Arkansas to the Arkansas Class AAA State Baseball Championship, along with winning the MVP in the tournament and Arkansas High School Baseball Player of the Year largely in part to his 0.638 batting average and 60 RBIs with 15 home runs in his team’s first 25 regular season games.

Rather than signing with the Brewers, McReynolds elected to play for the University of Arkansas Razorbacks before being picked once again in 1981 in the first round sixth overall by the San Diego Padres. He debuted in 1983 with the Padres on June 2nd against the Philadelphia Phillies, hitting a home run in his fourth at-bat for the day after previously making outs. 

The following year McReynolds starred with the Padres, helping them to reach the World Series for the first time in their history, though would lose in five games to the Detroit Tigers. He would not play in the world series, though, after breaking his wrist trying to break up a double play in game four of the NLCS. He went on to play another two seasons in San Diego for a total of four with a batting average of 0.263 along with 65 home runs and 260 RBIs across them before being dealt to the New York Mets. In his second year with the Mets, the 1988 season, he would go on to finish third in MVP voting, but is most known for a collision with Mike Scioscia in the NLCS against the Dodgers in the first game, which ended with the Dodgers going to the World Series in seven games.

McReynolds played another three seasons with the Mets, but was dealt to the Kansas City Royals in the 1991 trade which saw him and two other players bring Bret Saberhagen to the Big Apple. He only spent two seasons there before returning to New York opposite Vince Coleman. Going on to retire the following year in 1994, McReynolds carried a career batting average of 0.265 across his twelve years with 211 home runs and 807 RBIs for 30.1 WAR.

Let me know what you think of my rankings! Do you think Rodón will end his career better than McReynolds? Or do other players like Tim Teufel or Don Slaught out rank them both? I think Cain is the no doubt option for signed! Be sure to check out the previous iterations, and keep an eye out for the next one, where I check out the next five rounds!

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